112 phone calls, fake identity: How Sonam Raghuvanshi, Raj Kushwaha planned Raja Raghuvanshi’s murder

Sonam Raghuvanshi, arrested for the murder of her husband during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, made over 100 phone calls to a man named Sanjay Verma in the weeks before her marriage. It has been revealed that Sanjay Verma was a fake identity used by her boyfriend, Raj Kushwaha.

According to Indore Police sources, Sonam, 24, contacted the number registered under Sanjay Verma 112 times between March 1 and March 25. She had long conversations with the person on the other end, the sources said.

Following the appearance of Sanjay Verma's name in connection with the case, Indore Police launched an investigation. The phone was found to be used by Kushwaha, who is accused of being the mastermind behind the killing of Raja Raghuvanshi.

Sonam and Raja, 29, were married on May 11 in Indore and left for their honeymoon on May 20. Three days later, the couple went missing near Sohra, 65 kilometres from Shillong. Raja's decomposed body was recovered on June 2 from a 200-foot-deep gorge near Weisawdong Falls in Cherrapunji. Police said he had been hacked to death and dumped there.

A week later, Sonam was arrested in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. During interrogation, she allegedly confessed to her husband's murder and named Kushwaha and three hitmen—Vishal Chauhan, Anand Kurmi, and Akash Rajput—as co-conspirators. All four were arrested by Indore Police.

"Sonam was present at the scene and watched her husband die," said Assistant Commissioner of Police Poonam Chand Yadav in an interview with India Today TV. On Wednesday, a Special Investigation Team from Meghalaya visited Indore and questioned Sonam's family for over two hours. The team also visited Kushwaha's residence and spoke with his mother for about 30 minutes.

Investigators are exploring whether additional motives beyond Sonam's relationship with Kushwaha played a role in Raja's murder.